This invention relates to security devices for electronic equipment such as computers and, more particularly to a method and apparatus for providing an integrated security system that tends to inhibit theft of the electronic device and its internal components.
There are many different electronic type devices that have become targets of theft. Such devices include computers, printers, copiers, video cassette recorders, televisions, and a variety of medical equipment. Due to the vast number of possible situations in which it would be necessary to secure one of these devices against theft, the securing of a computer to inhibit theft will be focussed on for exemplary purposes only.
Over the last twenty years or so, the computer industry has experienced massive growth. The processing power that once required computers that were so large they took up entire floors of office buildings, can now be found in a typical personal computer, i.e., a desktop or laptop computer. These early behemoths were not only large, they were extremely expensive and usually only accessible to a privileged few. Affordability of personal computers has gone hand-in-hand with the increase in processing power. As a result, there has been a significant influx of computers into all forms of business and into educational institutions, from grammar schools to universities. It is now becoming common place for high schools, intermediate schools and even grammar schools to have their own computer laboratories. With the ever-increasing popularity of the internet as a tool for commerce, education and communication, the number of personal computers found in businesses, schools and homes is likely to only increase.
The increase in popularity and desirability of high-powered personal computers has brought with it an increase in theft. Schools and businesses are being burglarized at an alarming rate resulting in the loss of newly installed computers and other electronic devices such as televisions and video cassette players. Well-dressed thieves have been known to brazenly walk into businesses during business hours and walk out with unsecured computer and electronic equipment. In an effort to combat this wide spread problem and inhibit the theft of personal computers and related equipment, computer consumers have employed a variety of devices to secure their computer equipment against theft. One such security system includes the use of a cable attached to the computer and other related components such as the monitor, keyboard, printer, etc., and then attached to a desk, floor or other relatively immovable object. Such a security system, however, tends to be ineffective against a relatively industrious thief and is often aesthetically unpleasant.
Other more secure systems have been developed to inhibit computer theft. An example of such a security system includes the use of a mounting plate secured to a desktop or floor combined with a base plate secured to the bottom of the computer. The base plate includes a number of attachment feet attached thereto which are specifically designed to mate with an equal number of keyhole slots formed in the mounting plate. The.attachment feet are adapted to enter the keyhole slots and then be slid to a lockable or non-removable position within the slots. A locking means, such as a lock bar mechanism, is then employed to prevent the attachment feet from being returned to a removable position within the slots and, thus, inhibit the removal of the computer from the mounting plate as a result. Although likely to be more secure and aesthetically pleasing than the cable security system discussed above, the mounting plate security systems also tend to be ineffective against an industrious thief. For instance, the mounting plate system is not likely to prevent a thief from removing the computer cover and taking the largely untraceable internal components found therein such as the central processing unit chip or the memory chips.
To prevent theft of a computer and its internal components, a variety of steel enclosures or entrapments have been designed to encase the entire computer. Although generally effective in preventing theft of the computer and its internal components, such entrapments are so aesthetically unpleasant and inconvenient to use that most computer consumers have opted for other security systems, such as those noted above, or none at all.
Therefore, it would be desirable to have a security system that inhibits unauthorized removal of electronic devices such as computers, as well as the internal hardware and components of the device, and at the same time is both convenient to use and aesthetically pleasing.
The integrated security system (hereinafter xe2x80x9cISSxe2x80x9d) of the present invention advantageously combines a conventional chassis assembly of a given electronic device, such as a computer, with an entrapment system that inhibits unauthorized removal of not only the computer, but also its internal components in a manner that is both aesthetically pleasing and convenient to use. With the ISS the typical mounting feet found on a conventional computer chassis or chassis of other electronic devices are replaced with locking feet that mate with a security base plate that has been permanently or selectively removably attached to a desktop, floor or other relatively immovable object. In regard to a computer, the cover is typically designed to slide over the chassis. With the cover in place, the locking feet are installed to retain the cover on the chassis until the locking feet are removed. Next, the computer is attached to the security base plate by inserting the locking feet into a large diameter keyhole portion of keyhole type slots formed in the security base plate and then sliding the computer until the feet encounter the back of a slot portion of the keyhole slots wherein removal of the locking feet is prevented. A locking mechanism is then engaged to lock the computer in place on the security base place, which in turn locks the cover to the chassis. Thus, the computer and its internal components are integrally secured against theft.
Alternatively, the ISS would include locking feet attached to a base plate and keyhole slots formed in a computer chassis and cover. The locking feet mate with the keyhole slots in the computer chassis and cover to lock the computer to the base and lock the cover to the chassis. The cover is slid over the chassis aligning the keyhole slots in both components. With the cover in place, the keyhole slots are aligned with the locking feet mounted on the base plate. Next, the computer is attached to the security base plate by inserting the locking feet into the large diameter keyhole portion of the keyhole type slots and then sliding the computer until the feet encounter the back of the slot portion of the keyhole slots wherein removal of the locking feet is prevented. A locking mechanism is then engaged to lock the computer in place on the security base place, which in turn locks the cover to the chassis. Thus, the computer and its internal components are again integrally secured to inhibit theft.